1
Social Norm Violation.
Enteringone’s Apartment without Knocking
Introduction
Barkow, (1978) defined socialnormsas behaviours thatthesocietyexpects from its habits. Therefore, whenpeopledemonstratethesesocialnorms in thepublic, thesocietyobserves them with satisfactionandacceptance. Consequently, whenthesocialnorms are violatedorconfused, peoplereactstrangelyorbecome annoyed. Forthesocialnormviolationassignment, I had a pool of ideas, walking on thewrongside of thefootpath, reading in theelevator, eating sloppily andsoon. However, my desirewas to violate a norm that willmake me act in themostcasualway.
However, forthisassignment, I decided to violatethesocialnorm of entering into people’s apartment without seeking their welcomeor without knocking at their doors. Typically, in my societypeopleknock at thedoorand waits patientlyfor a response from theowners of theapartment. Ideally, one willwait until someone responds “come inn” before stepping inside theapartment. Therefore, I made up my mindandenteredtheapartment without knocking. Besides, I decided to actcomfortably like theresidentsortenants of theapartmentsthat I could makemyself at home.
So, to makesurethat I could not be accused of trespass orentering someone’s home as a stranger, I decided to ask my friend Daniel to keep me company. Previously, I hadvisited his apartment on one occasion with another classmate for a dinner. At thismoment, itwasobviousthat I was not a frequentvisitor of theapartment to comfortablyfeel at homeorwalk in without knocking at thedoor.
When I decided to implement my experimentfortheanthropologyclass, I decided to take to his apartment. As I approached his door, I was a littlebitshaken of whatwilltranspireonce I was in thehouse. Furthermore, his blindswereshutand, therefore, itwasdifficult to predictwhetherhewas at homeor I would find Sam, his friendwhomtheystaywith. After a standstill outside on thedoorfor a couple of minutes, I managed to summonadequatecourageandfinallyentered.
My experiencewhen I enteredwasastonishing. Immediately after I stepped inside thehouse, theroomwent on a silentmode. Itseemedthat his familymemberswere in themiddle of delicate orconfidentialinformationandhadnosigns of continuing in my intruding orpresence. I hadkeptfor a couple of seconds before I inquiredif Daniel washome. Luckily, hewas in thebackyardsortingsomestaff. One of his familymembersrushed to get him as I remained seated with therest of his familymembers. Notably, theystillwore a shockinglook on their facesbecause I keptmyself at home by comfortablygetting seated on thepew. Honestly, theyappearedquite annoyed as I could observe from theexperiencereflectionpoint of view (Holy Stuchlik, 2006). When Daniel approached, I hadalreadyprepared a question to ask him anddeparttheawkwardapartment.
Throughout theexperiment, my experienceremainedawkward, and I remainedashamed of my act. In truth, I was idealess thatviolation of such a small societal norm of knocking before entering to one’s apartment could severelyupsetpeopleortheinhabitants. However, I wasconfidentbecause my friend Daniel waswellaware of my intentions. Later in theevening, I called him andrequested him to explain to his familymembersthatitwas a courseexperimentfor my universitystudies. I hopeheexplainedthesituation to andtheinformationforthisassignment to his familymemberssothat my reputation can be rehabilitated in their mindsandsalvaged.
At theend of theexperiment, I realizedthatpeoplegetterriblyannoyed, confusedandevenshow their angerifyouenter their apartment without their knowledge, a sentiment equally observed by Hamnett, (2007).Eventhough I feltweirdbreakingthesocialnorm, I concludedthat my weirdfeelingsrepresentedall that washappening than thespecificact of violatingthenorm. I have to confessthatitwas not enjoyable at first, butitdidassist me realizehowpeople in my societyvaluetheprotection of their socialnorms. It is something I would neverattempt to do by choice, andif I spot someone doingtheact, I willfeelsoweirdanddisappointed in him or her.
Conclusion
It is comparative to mentionthattheexperience of violatingthesocialnorm through entering into Daniel’s apartment without knockingwasuncomfortableandembarrassing. However, I enjoyedtheexperience after thefamilymembers of theapartmentsalvaged my reputation. When I wentback on a normalvisit, we revisited our experiences with lots of fun. Honestly, I laterlearnedthattheexperimentwasenjoyable. It is interestingnorm in my societythat is well safeguarded forethicalpurposes in thesociety. Overall, itwas a virtuousexperience, planningitmade me anxiousandnervousbutonce I implementedit I gainedtheexperience.
References
Barkow, J. H. (January 01, 1978). Social norms, the self, and sociobiology: Building on the ideas of A. I. Hallowell. Current Anthropology.
Hamnett, I. (2007). Social anthropology and law. London: Academic Press.
Holy, L., & Stuchlik, M. (January 01, 2006). Anthropological data and social reality.Anthropology in Theory : Issues in Epistemology.